Cargo and door sensor

ABSTRACT

Implementations for a system to receive a message indicating that an ambient light level measured by an ambient light sensor within a container exceeds a first threshold value or falls below a second threshold value; in response to the message indicating that the ambient light level exceeds the first threshold value, activate a cargo sensor; and in response to the message indicating that the ambient light level falls below the second threshold value, de-activate the cargo sensor.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/542,017, titled “Cargo and Door Sensor”, filedon Nov. 14, 2014 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,007,209), which in turnclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/904,667,titled “Cargo and Door Sensor” filed on Nov. 15, 2013. The entirecontents of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/542,017 and U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/904,667 are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to a cargo and door sensor. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure is directed to a cargo and doorsensing device with access to an ambient light sensor for a container ora trailer.

BACKGROUND

Current product offerings for cargo and door sensors use such sensors toprovide information as to whether the cargo storage area is accessible.Examples of cargo and door sensors can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,015,824, 7,421,112, and 7,579,941.

The current cargo and door sensors provide a triggering event for thecargo sensor to perform measurements of the cargo area. Motion sensorsare often used to determine if there is likely to be load activity, andalthough this is helpful, it is very imprecise as there are numerouscauses for motion which are largely common in their characteristics.However, such solutions for cargo and door sensors employ the cumbersomeand costly installation and use of wired or wireless distributed cargoand door sensors, which substantially increases installation time andassociated labor cost, increases hardware and maintenance costs,increases the probability of sensor cabling damage, suffers erraticbehavior and routine field failures, introduces performance issues whichcommonly plague solutions which include door sensors, and eventually isrendered useless or is ignored by the consumer.

Early ultrasonic cargo sensors were designed to look for cargo veryfrequently, (possibly with time-varied sampling), which causes threegeneral problems. (1) Power consumption: Sampling for cargo, based on aschedule, increases power consumption wastefully because samples occurwhile the load state is static. A typical container or dry van onlychanges load state 5-10 times per month. The majority of the time theload state is either empty or loaded, and not in transition. Arbitrarysampling of cargo during these long dwells is wasteful in terms of powerconsumption. (2) Increased latency: Performing cargo samples with aperiodic sampling scheme has the opportunity to increase latency, drivenby the time between the actual load state change, and the time delayuntil the next cargo sample is scheduled. Attempting to combat thepotential latency with a high rate of sampling can make powerconsumption dramatically worse. Whereas decreasing the sample rate tocombat power consumption can make latency dramatically worse. (3) Eventaccuracy: Sensing cargo using ultrasonic transducers relies on thestability of the measurement conditions. Changes in the measurementconditions (most notably changes in environmental conditions) can changethe results of the measurement, and in some cases, change the resultingdetermination of the state of the cargo. Examples of this aretemperature spikes due to solar loading or rapid increases in humiditydue to a rainstorm. These perturbations in the measurement conditionscan cause false events to be registered, and while the load state willgenerally self-correct after the measurement conditions have stabilized,the false events have already occurred.

Thus, there is a need for a system and method configured to overcome thedeficiencies of the conventional manner for cargo and door sensors thatprovides an effective alternative without added installation complexity,and robust field performance for the life of the equipment.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a cargo and door sensing system andmethod with access to an ambient light sensor. The system and method forthe cargo and door sensor can incorporate a light sensor, situated forexample at the nose of the trailer or container at a high position, andaimed at the rear doors, to provide information about the status of therear doors, and consequently whether the cargo area is being accessed.This disclosure provides a combined benefit of robust performance, lowcost, low complexity, and low power consumption.

The system and method can determine, with reasonable confidence, alikely period of time wherein a load state change is likely to beoccurring in a trailer or container. This can be useful for active cargostate change determination. This permits more intelligent power-up anduse of an associated cargo detection circuit, which keepspower-consumption low. This can be useful for monitoring intermodalcontainers and other non-powered assets.

Similarly, the system and method can determine, with reasonableconfidence, a likely period of time wherein a load state change cannotbe occurring. This can be useful for cargo state change filtering.

The system and method can determine, with reasonable confidence, alikely moment in time wherein the loading of a trailer or container hascompleted. This can be useful for tagging the time in which thecontainer or trailer is available for pickup.

The system and method can determine, at a relatively low cost and lowpower, without extraneous remote sensors, and with reasonableconfidence, a likely moment in time when the cargo door was opened orclosed. This can be useful for monitoring access to the container ortrailer, either for process refinement, dispatch triggering, orsecurity.

The system and method can determine, with reasonable confidence, incertain circumstances, whether there is a breach of the roof or wall ofa trailer or container. This can be useful for container/trailer damageassessment or monitoring for load vulnerability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be more readily understood from the detaileddescription of exemplary embodiments presented below considered inconjunction with the attached drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of system architecture of an examplecargo door and sensing system in which implementations of the presentdisclosure can operate.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example cargo and door sensorsubsystem in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3A and 3B an embodiment of an example cargo and door sensorsubsystem in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart that diagrams a method of an example cargo anddoor sensor system in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer system that may perform one ormore of the operations described herein.

It is to be understood that the attached drawing is for purposes ofillustrating the concepts of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides for methods and systems for a cargo anddoor sensing system that incorporates a combination of a motion sensorwith a light sensor. In an embodiment, the light sensor may be used withor without motion sensing as an additional (clarifying) trigger. In anembodiment, the light sensor would indicate when the cargo area wasaccessible, and the motion sensor would indicate periods wherein thecargo was being loaded or emptied. Both would have to occur together toindicate a load state change possibility. Light without motion, ormotion without light, would be ignored. In an embodiment, the lightsensor may be located at different points in the container depending onusers' desire focus on certain areas inside the container.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of system architecture 100 of anexample cargo door and sensing system in which implementations of thepresent disclosure can operate. The system architecture 100 can includea cargo door and sensing system 110, a server 105, a network 102, acargo and door sensing subsystem 120, a cargo sensor 107, an ambientlight sensor 109, and a designated entity 150. The designated entity 150and the server 105 may each be a computer system to run services thatserves the needs of users or other computers on the network 102. Anexample computer system is described in greater detail below inconjunction with FIG. 5.

The server 105 can include the cargo and door sensing subsystem 120 forinteracting with applications executing on computers associated with thedesignated entity 150 via the network 102. The cargo and door sensingsubsystem 120 is described in further detail below with respect to FIG.2. The network 102 may be any type of communications medium that allowsfor the designated entity 150 to communicate with the server 105. Thenetwork 102 may be, for example, cellular telephone network, a privatenetwork (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN),intranet, etc.), a corporate network (e.g., a private network for anorganization such as a corporation), a satellite communications system,and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet).

In an embodiment, the cargo door and sensing system 110 includes a cargosensor 107 that can include access to an ambient light sensor 109. In anembodiment, the cargo sensor 107 can be an ultrasonic sensor, acamera/video-based sensor, or a laser sensor, or equivalent. Forexample, the cargo sensing device developed by I.D. Systems™ usesultrasonic sensors in a variety of measurement modes to look for anyobjects it can detect within the cargo storage area (generally8′W×9′H×52′L). As discussed above, changes in the measurement conditions(most notably changes in environmental conditions) can change theresults of the measurement, and in some cases, change the resultingdetermination of the state of the cargo. Examples of this aretemperature spikes due to solar loading or rapid increases in humiditydue to a rainstorm. These perturbations in the measurement conditionscan cause false events to be registered, and while the load state willgenerally self-correct after the measurement conditions have stabilized,the false events have already occurred. To minimize the potential forthese false events, cargo samples should only be taken when the loadstate has a possibility of changing. Embodiments of this disclosure canmeasure the light level available and use this information to addressthe issues described above.

The implementation of this disclosure includes an ambient light sensor109, which in an embodiment can be hosted by a main processor for thecargo sensor 107 or by the server 105. The ambient light sensor 109 canhave an ambient light detection range from 0.25 lux to 16,383 lux asvisible at the top header of the container/trailer nose. In anembodiment of this disclosure, the low-light capability of the sensorcan have sensitivity down to, for example, 0.25 lux, which can detect avery marginal level of illumination entering the cargo storage area.

In an embodiment, the ambient light sensor 109 can be co-located withthe cargo sensor 107 (e.g., ultrasonic transducers) on the mountingassembly, and can be aimed toward the rear doors of the container ortrailer, which is the source of any light which may be entering thecargo storage area.

In an embodiment of this disclosure, the ambient light sensor 109 cancollect light sensor readings at regular intervals. Typically, this canbe every 30 seconds, but can vary based on operating conditions, and canbe configurable. These light sensor readings can be used by the server105 to determine if access to the cargo storage area is evident. Sincean empty to load transition will always begin with the cargo storagearea clear, and since a load to empty transition will always end withthe cargo storage area clear, by definition the ambient light sensor 109will have a clear view of the rear doors at some point during any loadstate change. Also, since light is always available during loading orunloading operations, there will always be an opportunity for the server105 to detect that the cargo storage area is being accessed by detectingthe presence of light. The source of the light may vary, and whether itis ambient sunlight, warehouse lighting, headlamps from forklifts, oranother light source, some light will enter the cargo storage areaduring loading or unloading operations.

In an embodiment, the power requirement for the ambient light sensor 109is significantly less than a power requirement for the cargo sensor 107.For example, a single reading by the ambient light sensor 109 mayrequire a fraction of power required by that of a single reading by thecargo sensor 107. In an embodiment, the ambient light sensor 109 mayrequire one unit of power to take a single reading while the cargosensor 107 may require over 500 units of power to take a single reading.Therefore, the ambient light sensor 109 is more efficient than the cargosensor 107 from the perspective of power consumption.

Since the source of the available light may vary, it is important thatthe ambient light sensor 109 is sensitive across all availablewavelengths of visible light, and also tolerant of the flicker that willoccur with certain types of lighting (e.g., fluorescent lighting withouthigh frequency ballasts have a stroboscopic effect at 120 Hz). Toaccommodate this type of lighting, the light sensor readings shouldintegrate samples over a period of time to determine the proper averagelight level. The implementation of the disclosure described herein usesa light sensor which performs this type of measurement.

In an embodiment, the light level for a container or trailer which hasthe doors closed is invariably measured as zero. The processor willinterpret the condition of the light level equaling zero as ‘dark’, andthe container or trailer storage area as being ‘inaccessible’. However,to ensure that this condition is not transitory, the light levelcondition must be held throughout a soaking period before a light levelstate change is committed. This period is configurable, but typically ison the order of 2 minutes.

Conversely, the presence of light (non-zero readings) for a container ortrailer invariably indicates that the doors are open, and consequently,the cargo storage area is ‘lit’ and ‘accessible’. The server 105 orprocessor can interpret the condition of non-zero light levels as thecontainer or trailer being ‘accessible’. Similarly, this condition mustbe held throughout a soaking period before this light level state changeis committed.

It should be noted that the absence of light at the sensor does notalways signify that the container or trailer is inaccessible. However,if light is not visible by the sensor, then it is safe to assume thateither (a) cargo operations are not occurring, or (b) there issufficient cargo in the storage area that the sensor is being completelyobscured. In an embodiment, the critical state changes for cargodetermination are when the container or trailer initially receives aload, or when the container or trailer is completely unloaded. In bothof these instances, the ambient light sensor 109 would not be obscured,and so for the purposes of cargo state determination, light sensing isstill extremely useful.

For the purpose of cargo state determination, the state change of theambient light sensor 109 from accessible to inaccessible, or frominaccessible to accessible, will typically be correlated to cargo statechanges. For a typical cargo state change from empty to loaded, thesequence will be (from left to right):

Cargo Empty Empty Load Loaded Loaded State initiated . . . Light DarkLit Lit Lit/Dark Dark State Storage Inacces- Acces- Acces- Accessible/Inacces- Area sible sible sible Inaccessible sible Door Closed Open OpenOpen Closed State

The light state will always transition to ‘lit’ at or before the loadingoperation is initiated. The light state will always transition to ‘dark’at or after the loading operation was initiated. As such, the transitionperiod wherein the light state changes from dark, to lit, and back todark is the time period that the cargo storage area could have receiveda load. Conversely, the cargo storage area could not have received aload prior to the transition to light. If the cargo storage area wasstill empty after returning to dark, it could not have received a loadafter the transition back to dark.

For an empty container or trailer, the ambient light sensor 109 canprovide an extremely valuable indication of the period of time at whichthe cargo state could have changed to loaded. In an embodiment, thesensor uses this trigger to concentrate ultrasonic cargo samples duringthis period of activity. And similarly, the sensor largely ignoresperiods of time wherein a cargo state change cannot be occurring. Afteran extended lapse of time since the last detection of light, the sensorwill cease ultrasonic cargo samples.

In an embodiment, the method works just as well for cargo state changesfrom loaded to empty. For a typical cargo state change from loaded toempty, the sequence will be (from left to right):

Cargo Loaded Loaded Unload Empty Empty State initiated . . . Light DarkDark/Lit Dark/Lit Lit Dark State Storage Inacces- Inaccessible/Inaccessible/ Acces- Inacces- Area sible Accessible Accessible siblesible Door Closed Open Open Open Closed State

The light state will always transition to ‘lit’ at or before theunloading operation is completed. The light state will always transitionto ‘dark’ at or after the unloading operation was completed. As such,the transition period wherein the light state changes from dark, to lit,and back to dark is the time period that the cargo storage area couldhave been unloaded. Conversely, the cargo storage area could not havebeen unloaded prior to the transition to light. If the cargo storagearea was still loaded after returning to dark, it could not have beenunloaded after the transition back to dark.

For a loaded container or trailer, the ambient light sensor 109 canprovide an extremely valuable indication of the period of time at whichthe cargo state could have changed to empty. In an embodiment, theambient light sensor 109 can use this trigger to concentrate ultrasoniccargo samples during this period of activity. And similarly, the ambientlight sensor 109 can largely ignore periods of time wherein a cargostate change cannot be occurring. In an embodiment, after an extendedlapse of time since the last detection of light, the sensor will ceasecargo samples taken by the cargo sensor 107.

In an embodiment, a variation of a container or trailer operation is thelive load scenario, wherein a load can be delivered to a location, and anew load received at that same location. For this scenario, the doorsmay be opened only once. This is simply a merge of the two statetransitions described above. However, the light level will typicallyonly persist while empty. For a typical cargo state change from loadedto empty, and back to loaded, the sequence will be (from left to right):

Cargo Loaded Loaded Unload Empty Load Loaded Loaded State initiated . .. initiated . . . Light Dark Dark/Lit Dark/Lit Lit Lit Lit/Dark DarkState Storage Inaccessible Inaccessible/ Inaccessible/ AccessibleAccessible Accessible/ Inaccessible Area Accessible AccessibleInaccessible Door Closed Open Open Open Open Open Closed State

As before, the ambient light sensor 109 will always transition to beinglit at or after the cargo state change transitions to empty, and at orbefore the cargo state transitions to loaded. Although the period oftime that the cargo storage area may be empty, the ambient light sensor109 will have multiple opportunities to detect this period of time, andthe ambient light sensor 109 will concentrate cargo samples during thisperiod of time to determine whether the unload operation had completed,or whether the subsequent load operation had begun.

In this regard, the ambient light sensor 109 can be even more effectivethan a wired door sensor, in that the door could be open for hours (oreven days) prior to the unload operation completing. And similarly, thesubsequent load operation can also take hours or days. The period oftime that the ambient light sensor 109 state is ‘lit’, (and consequentlythe sensor determines the cargo storage area as ‘accessible’) may be ashorter period of time, but is certain to include the period of timethat the container or trailer is empty. This narrowly focused period oftime offers the opportunity for improved power consumption, improvedlatency, and more accurate event determination.

Although the sensor only requires the addition of light sensing to beuseful for focused cargo state determination, the introduction of motionsensing offers the opportunity for further concentration of ultrasoniccargo sampling. While the presence of light determines a period of timewherein the cargo state could be changing, the container or trailer maysit idle for a period of time with the doors open and light visible inthe cargo storage area. The additional information available with motionsensing provides the opportunity to ignore periods of time where thereis an absence of motion. The loading and unloading of pallets of cargo(typically performed with forklifts or other heavy equipment) causessignificant vibration of the container or trailer. A sensitive motionsensor, accessible by the processor for the cargo sensor device, can beused to determine if the container or trailer is idle, and regardless ofwhether the current light state is lit or dark, and regardless ofwhether the current cargo state is loaded or empty, the cargo state isvery unlikely to change while the cargo storage area is still and absentof any vibration. Whereas if the motion sensor is active, and the lightstate is lit, then it is very likely that a load or unload operation isoccurring. This augmentation of the sensor offers further improvementsin the areas of power consumption, event latency, and cargo stateaccuracy.

A further use of light sensing for cargo state reporting is fordetermining when a loading operation has been completed. Ultrasoniccargo sensors typically require only one sufficiently-sized object to beplaced within the cargo storage area to determine that the container ortrailer is ‘loaded’. Generally, if a container or trailer is not empty,it is considered to be loaded. However, the loading operation canprogress for a significant period of time before the container ortrailer has been entirely loaded. Drivers should not be dispatched tothe container or trailer for pickup until the loading operation iscomplete. So while determining that the container or trailer is notempty at the beginning of a loading operation is useful for theassessment and allocation of the container or trailer as a useableasset, it is not as useful for the assignment of a driver or tractor forthe pickup of the load. For this reason, it is useful for the customerof the container (i.e., an example of the designated entity 150) ortrailer to have knowledge when the load operation has begun, as well aswhen the load operation has completed.

In an embodiment, the ambient light sensor 109 can be positioned as highas possible within the cargo storage area, for example, approximately 3cm from the ceiling of the container or trailer, which typicallyprovides a line-of-sight from the sensor to the rear doors throughoutthe loading operation. Due to the internal structure of the container ortrailer, and due to the requisite lifting of pallets or materiel whilepositioning them into the cargo storage area, there is typically a gapof several centimeters between the cargo and the ceiling of thecontainer or trailer. This gap allows light to filter into the cargostorage area and to be detected by the light sensor. The ambient lightsensor 109, with a sensitivity of for example 0.25 lux, can detect verylow light levels. As long as any light is visible to the ambient lightsensor 109, the loading operation can be considered to be ‘in progress.’

In an embodiment, two events can be generated by the sensor based on adetermination of the loading operation by the cargo door and sensingsystem 110. At the moment that the load is first detected, an event willbe generated to indicate that the loading operation has begun. This istypically consistent with the detection of the first few pallets placedwithin the cargo storage area. If the ambient light sensor 109 stilldetects light at this time, the ambient light sensor 109 can continue tomonitor light levels periodically. Since it is paramount that any lightbe detected, and since the presence of light could be fleeting, the rateat which light sensor samples will be taken is generally increased, forexample, to a sample rate of every 5 seconds, but is configurable.

For as long as light is detected, and the cargo state remains in theloaded state, the loading operation can be considered to be in progress.When light is first detected as absent, the cargo door and sensingsystem 110 can initiate a timer to confirm that light is persistentlyabsent and to confirm that the container or trailer is ‘dark’. In anembodiment, the use of the timer improves the accuracy of the sensor.There are scenarios where the light sensor may be momentarily obscured,(e.g., by a pallet lifted against the sensor by a forklift), or thelight source may be momentary (e.g., the headlamps of a forkliftentering and exiting the container or trailer). The soaking period usedby the sensor is configurable, but is typically set to 15 minutes. Ifthe ambient light sensor 109 does not observe any visible light for theduration of the timer, with frequent ambient light sensor 109 samplesthroughout the duration, then the cargo storage area can be consideredto be ‘dark’, and the loading operation is considered to be complete. Inan embodiment, the ambient light sensor 109 can generate a second eventto indicate that the loading operation has completed, and will committhe cargo state to be loaded.

Using the empty to load scenario described earlier, the migration of thecargo state sequence is exhibited below, with the beginning and end ofthe loading state shown.

Cargo Empty Empty Load Loading ... Loaded State initiated . . . LightDark Lit Lit Dim Dark State Storage Inacces- Acces- Acces- Acces-Inacces- Area sible sible sible sible sible Door Closed Open Open OpenClosed State Loading Loading Loading Loading State Begun * In ProgressComplete * * Event generated

Note that while the light level may diminish throughout the loadingoperation, as the increase of cargo within the storage area further andfurther obscures the ambient light sensor 109, the loading operationwill persist as ‘in progress’ as long as available light is visible.Eventually, the light sensor will be absent of visible light for theduration of the available timer, and the cargo door and sensing system110 will generate a ‘loading complete’ event.

Although there are scenarios of operation where the ambient light sensor109 may be completely shielded from available light for the duration ofthe timer, and the loading operation has not completed, or the doors arestill open, in practice these scenarios will be extremely uncommon. Andalthough the use of a door sensor provides a more emphatic trigger forthe completion of a loading operation, the benefits of a door sensor areoutweighed by the high cost, increased complexity, and poor long-termreliability of door sensors for containers or trailers (which aretypically vigorously handled throughout their life cycle). Consequently,door sensors are not a practical and often deployed solution in thetransportation industry. The integration of a cargo door and sensingsystem 110, as described in this disclosure, offers a practical, lowcost, low complexity, and highly reliable long-term solution for thetransportation industry, with loading begun/complete event accuracy verynearly approaching the performance of a door sensor.

With the additional benefits of improved power consumption, reducedlatency of state change, and improved event accuracy due to theintegration of light sensing with cargo sensing, the sensor offersdramatic improvements over current state of the art solutions availablein the industry today.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram 200 of an example cargo and doorsensor subsystem 120 in accordance with the present disclosure. Thecargo and door sensor subsystem 120 may include a receiving/transmittingunit 122, a light threshold determining unit 124, a cargo sensordetermining unit 126, a message generating unit 128, and a data store130.

The data store unit 130 may be a main memory (e.g., read-only memory(ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such assynchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.), a static memory (e.g., flash memory,static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory (e.g.,a data storage device), which communicate with each other via a bus. Thedata store unit 130 may be responsible for storing information, such asthreshold information that can be used by the light thresholddetermining unit 124 and by the cargo sensor determining unit 126. Otherforms of information that can be stored include, but are not limited to,the association of the cargo and door sensing system 110 with arespective designated entity 130.

The receiving/transmitting unit 122 may be responsible for receiving amessage indicating an ambient light level measured by the ambient lightsensor 109. The receiving/transmitting unit 122 can transmit the ambientlight level to the light threshold determining unit 124 to determinewhether the ambient light level exceeds a first threshold value or fallsbelow a second threshold value. If the ambient light level exceeds thefirst threshold value, which can indicate that a container door is open,the cargo sensor determining unit 126 can activate the cargo sensor 107.If the ambient light level falls below the second threshold value, whichcan indicate that a container door is closed, the cargo sensordetermining unit 126 can de-activate the cargo sensor 107.

In an embodiment, when the message indicating the ambient light levelmeasured by the ambient light sensor 109 indicates that the ambientlight level exceeds the first threshold value, which reasonablyindicates that the container door is open, the cargo and door sensingsubsystem 120 can determine whether a time associated with the messageindicating that the ambient light level exceeds the first thresholdvalue falls within a prohibited time window. For example, the prohibitedtime window can be based on the time of day, for example, to satisfy arule indicating that the container door shall not be opened at nighttime. The prohibited time window can also include the time prior to theexpected arrival time of the container. In a hypothetical case forpurposes of illustration and not limitation, if a container is scheduledto arrive to its final destination on the 10^(th) day of the month andthe container should not be opened prior to its arrival to the finaldestination on the 10^(th) day of the month, the prohibited time windowcan include the time prior to the 10^(th) day of the month. The datastore unit 130 can store information regarding certain times that thecontainer door can be open. When cargo and door sensing subsystem 120determines that the container door is open during the prohibited timewindow, the message generating unit 128 can generate an alert messageindicating that the container door is open during the prohibited timewindow, and the alert message can be sent to the designated entity 150.

In an embodiment, when the message indicating the ambient light levelmeasured by the ambient light sensor 109 indicates that the ambientlight level exceeds the first threshold value, which reasonablyindicates that the container door is open, the cargo and door sensingsubsystem 120 can determine whether a time associated with the messageindicating that the ambient light level exceeds the first thresholdvalue occurs during a prohibited state, which is a state of thecontainer during which the cargo door should not be opened. In anembodiment, examples of a prohibited state can include, but are notlimited to, geo-location, motion of the container, and command. In anembodiment, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can use a globalpositioning system (GPS) to determine a current location of thecontainer. In an embodiment, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 candetermine whether the container is in a prohibited state based on thelocation of the container. For example, if the current location of thecontainer is not at a loading center or a distribution center, which inthis hypothetical non-limiting example are the only two locations wherethe cargo door is permitted to be open, the cargo and door sensorsubsystem 120 can determine that the container is in a prohibited state.

In an embodiment, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can use amotion sensor to determine whether the container is in motion. In anembodiment, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can determinewhether the container is in a prohibited state based on whether thecontainer is in motion. In a hypothetical non-limiting example forpurposes of illustration, when the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120determines that the container is in motion, the cargo and door sensorsubsystem 120 can determine that the container is in a prohibited state.

In an embodiment, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can receive amessage indicating the configuration environment of the container andcan determine whether the container is in a prohibited state based onthe configuration environment of the container. Examples of theconfiguration environment of the container can include differentscenarios such as the container is attached to a truck (i.e., a tractortrailer), the container is on a rail for transport via train (i.e., railmode), the container is on an airplane, the container is on a boat, andthe like. In a hypothetical non-limiting example for purposes ofillustration, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can determine thatthe container is in a prohibited state when the container is on a railand not when the container is attached to a truck.

In an embodiment, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can receive amessage indicating the configuration environment of the container andcan determine whether the container is in a prohibited state based onthe configuration environment of the container. Examples of theconfiguration environment of the container can include differentscenarios such as the container is attached to a truck (i.e., a tractortrailer), the container is on a rail for transport via train (i.e., railmode), the container is on an airplane, the container is on a boat, andthe like. In an embodiment, the configuration environment of thecontainer can be received by cargo and door sensor subsystem 120, viathe network 102, from a database that indicated the present state of thecontainer. In a hypothetical non-limiting example for purposes ofillustration, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can determine thatthe container is in a prohibited state when the container is on a railand not when the container is attached to a truck.

In an embodiment, the cargo and door sensor subsystem 120 can receive amessage indicating that the container is in a prohibited state. Themessage indicating that the container is in a prohibited state can begenerated by a physical button, a switch, a card reader, and the like.In a non-limiting example for illustration purposes only, after loadingcargo onto the container and closing the container door, a shipper cangenerate the message (e.g., by pressing a switch or swiping a card etc.)that indicates that the container is in a prohibited state and that thecontainer door should not be opened again until the switch is pressed orcard is swiped again.

In an embodiment, when cargo and door sensing subsystem 120 determinesthat the container door is open during a prohibited state, the messagegenerating unit 128 can generate an alert message indicating that thecontainer door is open during a prohibited state, and the alert messagecan be sent to the designated entity 150.

In an embodiment, if the light threshold determining unit determinesthat the ambient light level exceeds the first threshold value, whichcan indicate that a container door is open, the cargo and door sensingsubsystem 120 can increase the sample rate of the ambient light sensor109 so that the ambient light sensor 109 can increase the sample rate ofsensor readings. This can provide additional accuracy in determiningwhen the cargo door is closed.

In an embodiment, if the light threshold determining unit determinesthat the ambient light level exceeds the first threshold value, whichcan indicate that a container door is open, and if thereceiving/transmitting unit 122 receives a message from the cargo sensor107 indicating that cargo is being loaded onto or unloaded from thecontainer, the cargo sensor determining unit 126 can modify the samplerate of either the cargo sensor 107 or the ambient light sensor 109, orboth the cargo sensor 107 and the ambient light sensor 109. For example,when the cargo and door sensing subsystem 120 determines that cargo isactively being loaded or unloaded, the sampling rate of the sensors canbe increased to provider further accuracy in determining when the cargoactivity is finished and/or when the container door is closed. In anembodiment, the higher sampling rate of the sensors can be usedthroughout a predetermined time window to gain confidence as to thevalidity of the cargo state change. In an embodiment, the predeterminedtime window can be, for example, several minutes (e.g., 5 minutes, 10minutes, 15 minutes, and the like). A purpose of the use of the highersampling rate is to validate that the detection of a cargoloading/unloading event is in fact a change in cargo instead of atransitory event. A transitory event can be an event that could causethe sensor to falsely indicate a cargo state change, such as, forexample, a person who enters the container to take an inventory readingbut not to move cargo or a foreman inspects the container but does notunload or load cargo. A transitory event can also be related to thecurrent weather, for example, a change in humidity can cause the sensorto falsely indicate a cargo state change. In an embodiment, thepredetermined time window for the use of the higher sampling rate canvary and can be based upon whether or not the container has cargo. Forexample, if the cargo and door sensing subsystem 120 determines that thecontainer does not contain cargo, then the predetermined time window forthe use of the higher sampling rate can be less than when the cargo anddoor sensing subsystem 120 indicates that the container contains cargo.In this case, when the cargo and door sensing subsystem 120 determinesthat the container is empty, the predetermined time window can beginupon the determination that the container is empty. Since the containerdoor will not likely remain open for a long period of time after thecontainer is empty, the predetermined time window can be relativelyshort (e.g., 5 minutes). In an embodiment, the predetermined time windowfor the use of the higher sampling rate can be initiated when the cargoand door sensing subsystem 120 determines that cargo has been loadedonto an empty container. In this example, the cargo and door sensingsubsystem 120 will use the higher sampling rate for the predeterminedtime window to confirm that the container is no longer empty. In anembodiment, the predetermined time window to confirm that the containeris no longer empty can be longer than the predetermined time window toconfirm that the container is empty (e.g., 15 minutes vs. 5 minutes,respectively) because generally, the container door will remain open fora longer period when cargo is being loaded.

FIGS. 3A and 3B an embodiment of an example cargo and door sensorsubsystem in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 3A illustratesthe header-mounted cargo sensor 310, and FIG. 3B illustrates an expandedpicture of the “short range” ultrasonic transducer assembly 320, withthe ambient light sensor circled. The configuration of the cargo sensorcan be configured such that the light sensor is mounted in a locationwhere it would have visibility of the rear doors, and that the processorresponsible for performing cargo sensor measurements have access to thelight level information. It is beneficial for the light sensor to bemounted high so as to have the best possible vantage point above cargothat could obscure the sensor. The header mount shown (typically mountedflush to the ceiling) offered the best performance during testing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart that diagrams a method 400 of an example cargo anddoor sensor system in accordance with the present disclosure. The method400 can be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware(circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (such may be executed on ageneral-purpose computing system or a dedicated machine), or acombination of both. At block 405, the method 400 begins. At block 410,the processing logic may receive a message indicating that an ambientlight level measured by an ambient light sensor exceeds a firstthreshold value or falls below a second threshold value. At block 420,the processing logic may determine if the ambient light level exceedsthe first threshold value, which may indicate that a cargo door is open.If it is determined that the ambient light level exceeds the firstthreshold value, then at block 430 the processing logic may activate acargo sensor and the method ends at block 470.

Reverting to block 420, if the processing logic determines that theambient light level does not exceed the first threshold value, then atblock 440, the processing logic may determine if the ambient light levelfalls below a second threshold value, which may indicate that the cargodoor is closed. If it is determined that the ambient light level fallsbelow the second threshold value, then at block 450 the processing logicmay de-activate the cargo sensor and the method ends at block 470.

Reverting to block 440, if the processing logic determines that theambient light level does not fall below the second threshold value,which may indicate that the state of the cargo door has not changed,then at block 460 the processing logic can determine that the status ofthe cargo sensor should be maintained and the method ends at block 470.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in theform of a computer system, in accordance with one example. The computingsystem may include a set of instructions 526 for creating a cargo anddoor sensing device with access to an ambient light sensor for acontainer or a trailer. In alternative examples, the machine may beconnected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network(LAN), an intranet, an extranet, a satellite communications system, orthe Internet. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a webappliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while asingle machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individuallyor jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to performany one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 500 includes a processing device 502, a main memory504 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.), a static memory506 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), anda secondary memory 516 (e.g., a data storage device), which communicatewith each other via a bus 508.

The processing device 502 represents one or more general-purposeprocessing devices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, orthe like. More particularly, the processing device 502 may be a complexinstruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction setcomputing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW)microprocessor, processor implementing other instruction sets, orprocessors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Theprocessing device 502 may also be one or more special-purpose processingdevices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP),network processor, or the like. The processing device 502 is configuredto execute the operations for electronically creating and tradingderivative products based on one or more indices relating to volatility.

The computer system 500 may further include a network interface device522. The network interface device may be in communication with a network102. The computer system 500 also may include a video display unit 510(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a touch screen, or a cathode raytube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), acursor control device 514 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generationdevice 520 (e.g., a speaker).

The secondary memory 516 may include a computer-readable storage medium(or more specifically a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium)524 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions 526 for thecargo and door sensing device with access to an ambient light sensor fora container or a trailer for the computer system 500 representing anyone or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 526 for the computer system 500 may also reside, completelyor at least partially, within the main memory 504 and/or within theprocessing device 502 during execution thereof by the computer system500, the main memory 504 and the processing device 502 also constitutingcomputer-readable storage media. The instructions for creating avolatility index 526 for the computer system 500 may further betransmitted or received over a network via the network interface device522.

While the computer-readable storage medium 524 is shown in an example tobe a single medium, the term “computer-readable storage medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions for creating avolatility index 526. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing orencoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine that causethe machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of thedisclosure. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, and optical and magnetic media.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions above are presented in termsof symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computermemory. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description,discussions utilizing certain terms refer to the action and processes ofa computer system, or similar electronic computing device, thatmanipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic)quantities within the computer system's registers and memories intoother data similarly represented as physical quantities within thecomputer system memories or registers or other such information storage,transmission or display devices.

The disclosure also relates to an apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it may be a general purpose computer systemselectively programmed by a computer program stored in the computersystem. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readablestorage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk includingoptical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories(ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic diskstorage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, other typeof machine-accessible storage media, or any type of media suitable forstoring electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

The descriptions and displays presented herein are not inherentlyrelated to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various generalpurpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with theteachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a morespecialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will appear as set forth in thedescription below. In addition, the disclosure is not described withreference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciatedthat a variety of programming languages may be used to implement theteachings of the disclosure as described herein.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other examples will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the abovedescription. Although the disclosure has been described with referenceto specific examples, it will be recognized that the disclosure is notlimited to the examples described, but can be practiced withmodification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regardedin an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. The scope ofthe disclosure should, therefore, be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other examples will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the abovedescription. Although the disclosure has been described with referenceto specific examples, it will be recognized that the disclosure is notlimited to the examples described, but can be practiced withmodification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regardedin an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. The scope ofthe disclosure should, therefore, be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a memory device to storeinstructions; and a processing device operatively coupled to the memorydevice, the processing device to execute the instructions to: receive,from a light sensor, a first reading indicating a first light level in acontainer comprising a container door; determine the container door isopen in view of the first light level exceeding a first threshold value;receive, from the light sensor, a second reading indicating a secondlight level in the container; and determine the container door is closedin view of the second light level falling below a second thresholdvalue.
 2. The system of claim 1, the processing device to: de-activate acargo sensor in view of the second light level falling below the secondthreshold value.
 3. The system of claim 1, the processing device to:activate a cargo sensor in response to the first light level exceedingthe first threshold value; and collect, by the cargo sensor, a sampleindicating a cargo state of the container, wherein the cargo state is atleast one of empty, load initiated, unload initiated, or loaded.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, the processing device to determine the first lightlevel exceeds the first threshold value when a predetermined number ofsamples of the first light level exceed the first threshold value duringa time window.
 5. The system of claim 1, the processing device todetermine a cargo area of the container is not secure when the firstlight level exceeds the first threshold value and a rate of motionexceeds a first motion threshold value.
 6. A method comprising:receiving, from a light sensor, a first reading indicating a first lightlevel in a container comprising a container door; determining, by aprocessing device, the container door is open in view of the first lightlevel exceeding a first threshold value; receiving, from the lightsensor, a second reading indicating a second light level in thecontainer; and determining the container door is closed in view of thesecond light level falling below a second threshold value.
 7. The methodof claim 6, further comprising: de-activating a cargo sensor in view ofthe second light level falling below the second threshold value.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising: activating a cargo sensor inresponse to the first light level exceeding the first threshold value;and collecting, by the cargo sensor, a sample indicating a cargo stateof the container, wherein the cargo state is at least one of empty, loadinitiated, unload initiated, or loaded.
 9. The method of claim 6,wherein determining the first light level exceeds the first thresholdvalue comprises determining a predetermined number of samples of thefirst light level exceeds the first threshold value during a timewindow.
 10. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining acargo area of the container is not secure when the first light levelexceeds the first threshold value and a rate of motion exceeds a firstmotion threshold value.
 11. A non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processingdevice, cause the processing device to: receive, from a light sensor, afirst reading indicating a first light level in a container comprising acontainer door; determine the container door is open in view of thefirst light level exceeding a first threshold value; receive, from thelight sensor, a second reading indicating a second light level in thecontainer; and determine the container door is closed in view of thesecond light level falling below a second threshold value.
 12. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, theprocessing device to: de-activate a cargo sensor in view of the secondlight level falling below the second threshold value.
 13. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, theprocessing device to collect a sample indicating a cargo state of thecontainer, wherein the cargo state is at least one of empty, loadinitiated, or loaded.
 14. The non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium of claim 11, the processing device to determine the first lightlevel exceeds the first threshold value when a predetermined number ofsamples of the first light level exceeds the first threshold valueduring a time window.
 15. The non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium of claim 11, the processing device to determine a cargo area ofthe container is not secure when the first light level exceeds the firstthreshold value and a rate of motion exceeds a first motion thresholdvalue.